Help needed: Shell script stopped working in Mountain Lion!

[Bruce Pokras]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Looks like cupsfilter is the way to go. Do I need to name a .ppd file, or is that optional? Also, I don't see where I name the input filename. I am a HyperCard scripter from way back, so I am dependent upon others for stuff like this. So if I have the input file path and the desired output file path, what exactly should my "get (shell cupsfilter)" command say?

As for Dr. Hawkins' question about combining the PDF files, I discovered that this can be done using a Python script that is a built-in Automator action using a command like this:

get shell("python '/System/Library/Automator/Combine PDF Pages.action/Contents/Resources/join.py' -o '" & thisShort[x] & "' " & theAddOn) -- adding pages to the existing file

"thisShort" is an array of pathnames of _resultant- files to which the "theAddOn" page is added. The previous file [x-1] is deleted once theAddOn page is successfully added to the PDF. This command is still working in Mountain Lion (thankfully!). I can provide more details if you would like.

Regards,

Bruce


On Aug 26, 2012, at 6:23 PM, Mike Bonner wrote:

> Oh cool! Just read up on cupsfilter and it looks like you're right.
> 
> On Sun, Aug 26, 2012 at 4:14 PM, Matthias Rebbe <
> matthias_livecode_150811 at m-r-d.de> wrote:
> 
>> Bruce,
>> 
>> if i remember right, but i could be wrong, then convert was just a symlink
>> for cupsfilter.
>> 
>> 
>> https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man8/cupsfilter.8.html
>> 
>> 
>> Regards,
>> 
>> Matthias
>> 
>> 
>> Am 26.08.2012 um 23:08 schrieb Bruce Pokras <bruceap at comcast.net>:
>> 
>>> Hello all!
>>> 
>>> I develop an application called Patent Grabber that downloads patents
>> from various US and international patent authorities. Unlike many other
>> authorities that provide patent pages in PDF, the US Patent & Trademark
>> Office (USPTO) provides patent pages in TIFF. From Tiger through Lion, the
>> following script (which I believe came from a member of this group) has
>> worked to convert those TIFF images into PDF pages:
>>> 
>>> put "/System/Library/Printers/Libraries/convert" into tConvertApp
>>> get shell(tConvertApp && "-f" && quote & tiffFile & quote && "-o" &&
>> quote & pdfFile & quote && "-j application/pdf 2>&1")
>>> 
>>> Now under Mountain Lion this script has stopped working. Users of my
>> application who have upgraded to Mountain Lion are left with a folder full
>> of TIFFs and an error message from my application that it could not find
>> any PDFs to combine into the final single PDF patent file. Does anyone have
>> an idea what could be happening?
>>> 
>>> Since foreign patent authorities provide patent pages in PDF, I know
>> that the other shell script that Patent Grabber uses (which combines
>> multiple PDF pages into a single PDF file) works fine. I think that should
>> rule out this being a Mountain Lion security issue as a result of my
>> application being unsigned, right??? Everything is going on in the
>> Documents folder.
>>> 
>>> Any insights would be greatly appreciated. My 2006 iMac cannot run
>> Mountain Lion, so I cannot simply do the upgrade to see what is going on.
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> 
>>> Bruce Pokras
>>> Blazing Dawn Software
>>> www.blazingdawn.com
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